SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Went out to dinner Friday night and found something I couldn’t swallow. No, the veal parmigiana was fine. But the restaurant’s owner said he’s going to Monday’s BCS title game with two tickets he acquired on the lower level at the 20-yard-line.

Total price? Try $2,800.

In some areas around here, that’s a bargain. Scalpers on Craigslist are asking for $4,000 to $5,000 for one ticket. Upper-deck seats were going for just under $1,000.

It’s the most-sought BCS title game ticket in the event’s 13 years and is considered among the five most expensive sports tickets of all time. Much of it has to do with this being the first BCS title game for both teams. Oregon has played football since 1894 and never won a national title. Auburn has won one: in 1957. The Tigers also claim a “Billingsley” national title in 1913.

Heisman jinx.

Auburn coach Gene Chizik said he hasn’t talked to quarterback Cameron Newton about Heisman Trophy winners’ failures in this game. But Newton knows about them. They’re not pretty.

Eight Heisman winners have played in this game’s 12-year history. Only two won the game: Alabama’s Mark Ingram last year and USC’s Mark Leinart in the 2004 season.

Recruiting rankings.

According to Rivals.com, Oregon’s current recruiting class is ranked eighth nationally with 11 four-star recruits. Auburn is 10th with one five-star and seven four-star players.

Second-half domination.

Teams have had trouble keeping up with Oregon in the second half. The Ducks have outscored opponents in the last two quarters 277-77. Auburn has blitzed teams in the last two quarters 246-117.

Reunion arena.

To my fellow Oregon alums’ chagrin, I left my green and yellow clothes at home. But one Oregon event I will attend. Playing at Oregon’s pep rally tonight is Otis Day & The Knights, the band that helped make the movie “Animal House” famous.

That movie made me famous too — sort of. My one claim to fame is that movie was filmed in my fraternity while I was living there. True story: In the fall of 1977, my Phi Psi house was used as the inside and outside of the Omega house. Remember the scene when Kevin Bacon was paddled and he said: “Thank you, sir. May I have another?” That was my living room for three years.

Fairley popular.

Defensive tackle Nick Fairley, Auburn’s Lombardi Award winner, signed up for a Twitter account last week and already has 6,000 followers.

Speaking of Fairley, Chizik defends him against accusations that he’s a dirty player.

“It is absurd, to be honest with you,” Chizik said. “It is real simple. You have a 315-pound defensive tackle and you can’t block him. Sometimes he’s going to be very aggressive and people are going to get hurt. We don’t want that. We don’t want to see anybody get hurt.

“But when you can’t block a guy that’s 315 pounds, that happens.”

Ducks have class — seriously.

Oregon is on the quarter system, and the winter term started Monday. The Ducks are practicing in the morning and spending two hours studying every afternoon.

Familiar faces.

Chizik and Oregon coach Chip Kelly just recently met, but they have faced each other before on the football field. Kelly was the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire and Chizik was the defensive coordinator at Stephen F. Austin when their teams met in 1997. Stephen F. Austin won 17-14.

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